


ranboo one shots the soothe the soul

by sleepyboisincinc



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, let them be happy 😭
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:34:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29090628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepyboisincinc/pseuds/sleepyboisincinc
Summary: ranboo one shots because i am addicted 🥴 help
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 196





	1. Chapter 1

hi welcome to my ranboo brainrot. here im gonna be posting random ranboo content that i come up with in the middle of the night. 

one of my dumb idiot friends (lomv u tully 🥴) sent me one ranboo fic and i cant stop thinking abt he so now i write teehee.

im just writing these in my down time which i have none of, so they're really short and i have no real uploading schedule, just whenever i feel like writing and reading. im not stressing myself to make it a certain amount of words or anything it's just whatever comes to mind. 

im writing these in between chapters of to please a storm (usually) so if you want updates from me more than weekly, you can read this :) i hope u like my ranboo brain rot.

keep in mind i write these at 2am so theres not gonna be proper fucken punctuation and all that bc i dont wanna lmao

also, some of these are gonna be in place of uploads because ive learned that uploading weekly and writing weekly is apparently like very tiring who woulda thought it?? but yeah, no upload of tpas this week, instead you get ranboo brainrot.

feel free to request random ranboo shit 🙏 like i said in the description no weird shipping shit he's a minor, you freaks. anyways that is all :)

p.s. none of these are related unless stated otherwise in the chapter.

p.p.s please join my discord it's very cool, https://discord.gg/rSTNyFsy8G


	2. it's raining somewhere else.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ranboo likes the rain. kinda.

despite popular belief, ranboo likes the rain. he thinks it's soothing to listen to. the pitter patter against the ceiling is reassuring. sometimes, he goes out with his umbrella and stands. he doesnt go splash in puddles or anything like that, but sometines he'll crouch down and watch droplets drip from plants.

other times, he leaves his umbrella inside. the rain stings. sometimes he feels like he deserves it. he doesnt know exactly what he had done to deserve it, but the voices that grow ever louder in his head echo and echo and yell at him, screaming all in one jumbled mess that make no fucking sense at all, and the only way that he can make them shut up when it gets like that is when he goes out in the rain without his umbrella and stares up at the falling water.

today is one of the former days. he's standing aimlessly, letting rain fall down on to him. the voices are yelling, but their shouts are slowly turning to a normal tone, then to whispers, then to nothing. even after they go quiet, he stands there. it hurts. his cheeks feel like they're on fire, and the rest of his body feels like when you're freezing and then you go and take a shower in hot water and it hurts.

he's shaken from his absent state when he hears a deep voice speaking. "hey, ranboo," it greets.

ranboo looks down from the sky and to his left. technoblade is stood there. he doesn't have an umbrella or a coat either, but his presence feels like he shouldn't need one. like the rain should be too terrified to land on him.

"hi," he says. he'd known that it had stung before, but being brought back to reality only made him realize just how much it actually hurt. he felt like he was on fire.

"what ya doin' out here? it's rainin'," techno says.

"yeah, i know," ranboo crosses his arms, rubbing his biceps. "i'm just standing." how the hell is he going to explain to someone that he barely knows that he's sitting out here in the rain- basically burning himself- to get rid of the probably nonexistent voices that rang in his head?

"standin'." techno repeats. ranboo nods. "let's go, ranboo," it feels like more of an order than an offer, but ranboo accepts anyways and follows as techno starts walking. he doesn't know where they are going.

"have i ever told you about the voices?" techno asks as they walk. ranboo raises a curious eyebrow.

"the.. voices..?" he inquires, raising a weary eyebrow.

"yeah. the voices. when i was younger- before i really knew how to deal with them- i used to do stupid stuff. get into fights with people thay were seven times my size. go on adventures without any armor at all. almost got myself killed like twenty different times that i could think of," 

ranboo smiles slightly at this. techno always seemed as if he'd lived life on edge, even as a kid. "okay..? uhm, why are you telling me all this?" he asks. techno ignores this.

"when i met phil, he understood. he heard voices too, and he taught me how to cope with them better. how to make them be quiet and how to tell them that i was in charge, not them." techno unclasped the cape from where it was rested on his shoulders and offered it to ranboo. he looked at it for a moment before accepting it.

he carefully placed it on his shoulders and clasped the little jewel bit. fancy. the cape was too big for his shoulders, but too short to properly reach his feet, as opposed to how it dragged slightly on the ground on techno.

"why don't you stay with me and phil for a while?" techno offered.

"oh- no, it's okay, i-" ranboo began.

"great. phil will love the company. man takes in whatever little bastard he can get his hands on," techno interrupts as if ranboo wasn't going to disagree with him. ranboo smiles.

"right," he agrees. maybe there would be ways to get rid of the voices besides the rain.


	3. main character vibes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ranboo really do be the main character ngl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ramboo 🥴 posting this bc my friend just got her phone back and she likes ranboo teehee 
> 
> p.s. join my discord it is very cool and there are 100+ other simps there!
> 
> https://discord.gg/rSTNyFsy8G

"wait wait wait, what?" techno sounds skeptical as, for the fourth time now, he watches ranboo easily pick up a full dirt block- grass still on top and all.

"yeah. just recently learned i could do it. cool right?" ranboo seems quite proud of himself for his unnatural ability.

"i told you it'd weird you out, tech," phil says light heartedly. "it's insanely cool," he adds. techno groans in response.

"phil, don't you realize what this means?" he asks, looking at the older man. phil exchanges a confused look with ranboo, then turns back to techno and shakes his head. "this means we're side characters," he complains. ranboo snorts, setting his grass block down for a moment, then picking it back up and putting it in his inventory for safe keeping.

"i'm definitely not the main character," ranboo reassures, clapping his hands together to get rid of any lingering dirt.

"main character question, do you know your parents?" techno asks. ranboo thinks on this for a bit too long, causing techno to groan dramatically once again. "see?? we are the side characters," 

"this is tragic," phil says, though his voice doesnt really sound as if he thinks it's tragic. honestly, he just seems more amused with how heartbroken techno seems in realizing he was the side character. honestly, he was surprised the piglin hybrid hadnt discovered this sooner.

"if it makes you guys feel any better, im pretty sure youre at least my senseis or something," ranboo says in a lame attempt to cheer techno up. it didnt seem to work.

"that totally means that we die afterwards," techno throws his hand up to his forehead like women in all the movies when they faint. ranboo giggles at the dramatic move, and phil chuckles at the stupidity of the whole conversation.

"well please dont die. i'll just never finish my training, that way you can never die," ranboo reassures. techno seems to think on this for a moment before deciding this is acceptable.

"yeah, that'll work," techno agrees. "we'll just work and get you super strong for now but not as strong as you could be," he decides. ranboo nods, being more than okay with this arrangement. "for now it's just a dirt block, but soon? who knows, maybe you'll lift up the entire world- just after i'm already dead because im pretty sure that would be around the end of your training," 

"i dont think that's possible," ranboo says. techno shushes him.

"anything is possible. just- well, ya know. you're gonna have to wait to accomplish your dreams, because if i'm your sensei i refuse to die," techno says, ruffling ranboos hair. phil wheezes as ranboo does his best to straighten it out once again. being the protagonist isnt for everyone, but phil thinks ranboo suits the role just fine.


	4. normal is subjective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> server link if u want :)  
> https://discord.gg/rSTNyFsy8G

"hey, uhm, phil," ranboo pipes up nervously from where he's sat beside the fire. phil looks up from the book he's reading, raising an eyebrow.

"yeah?" he asks, sticking his thumb in the page to keep his spot and closing the book.

"i have a question," the younger tugs at the skin around his finger nail uncertainly. 

"shoot," phil responds. ranboo gulps.

"is it normal to hear.. uhm.. voices...?" he asks. phil moves his thumb from his page and allows his book to shut completely. 

"the fuck? no, freak," phil stands. "i don't know what weird shit you're dealing with, but i want you out. ten minutes," he orders. 

ranboo sits completely shell shocked, staring at the man he'd come to see as a father figure call him a freak and his world shatter around him. his eyes water.

"no- no, don't cry- ranboo please," phil drops his book and crouches down to ranboos level. "no- i'm taking the piss- seriously, i'm one hundred percent joking," he reassures.

ranboo feels tears drip down his cheek as he gives a pained laugh. "what the fuck," he asks through a fit of tears and laughter.

phil pulls him into a hug. "i'm sorry- i thought it would be funny-" he wheezes at the stupid fucking idea. "don't worry, ranboo- you're not a freak- i hear them too- youre just as sane as me," phil speaks, trying to contain laughter as well as the tears that were threatening to fall down his own cheeks.

ranboo hugs phil tightly, burying his face in the mans shoulders and trying to calm down, but he's both laughing and crying so hard that it's starting to physically hurt. eventually, phil joins him in both. soon, they're both just snotty and tear ridden messes, out of breath from laughing. 

suddenly the door swings open and techno is stood in the doorway, covered in snow. he gives them both one glance as he enters the house and closes the door behind him. "what kind of shit show did i just walk in on?" he asks, causing phil to laugh harder and ranboo to follow suit. neither of them can even pause to answer him. "you guys are literally crazy, this is why i usually live by myself," techno rolls his eyes, though he felt a small smile creep across his face.


	5. walk in the park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hmmmmg rain

burn the disc

"no," ranboo said aloud to no one but himself. he didn't remember when he'd gotten tommy's disc in his possession or what the hell he was doing with it, but here it sat in his hands, glimmering in the sunlight as he twirled it aimlessly in his hands.

i think he should burn it

yeah, me too. tommy's kinda a bitch

BURRN ARSONNN

WE DIDNT START THE FIRE IT WAS ALWAYS BURNING SINCE THE WORLD'S BEEN TURNING

"shut up," ranboo's annoyed now. the voices were being especially aggravating now that he had the stupid fucking disc. he didn't want to burn it. really.

stop being a sissy smh

BURN BURN BURN

f l a m e

"fuck you," he says with an exasperated tone. 

"what?" a voice from behind him asks. ranboo turns around quickly, finding himself face to face with techno. the blood god. ya know, the one that can kill people with ease. the one that he'd just inadvertently said 'fuck you' to. 

"oh- hi-," he started counting his minutes because he was about ninety percent sure that technoblade was gonna murder him where he stood. "i wasn't talking to you, i'm sorry," he apologizes. techno looks around as if to see if there's anyone else there. there's not. just ranboo and tommy's disc.

"who were you talking to then?" he asks. ranboo is to one minute and he's not dead yet, so maybe that's a good sign.

"oh, ya know," techno doesn't know, and frankly ranboo doesn't either. "this rock," he looks down, where there is thankfully a fucking rock. "i kicked it. on accident. it hurt," he explains. if he were technoblade, he wouldn't believe himself. 

"you kicked the rock?" techno asks skeptically, looking down at the rock then back up at ranboo.

"yup, ha.. ha. damn thing," ranboo is almost a bit too quick to answer. a moment passes. "you buying this or?"

"not at all," 

"yeah, no, i didn't think so," ranboo nods in defeat, kicking the rock to the side so that it doesn't hit techno. 

"so you gonna say who you were really talkin' to or you gonna kick that rock till it actually hurts so you can say fuck you to it?" techno asks. ranboo chuckles.

"just- myself, i guess," he admits. "i know i'm gonna sound insane, but for some reason i was really tempted to burn this disc-" he shows it to techno "but i actually really dont want to. it's just these-"

"voices," techno completes the sentence. ranboo looks at him skeptically. 

"yeah. voices," he agrees. he puts the disc away in his inventory and mindlessly picks up a dirt block from a pathetic excuse for a hill that's beside him. he tends to do that a lot when he's nervous. 

techno does a slight double take at the ease in the way ranboo does this, but makes no comment on the subject. "yeah. they tend to do that. they dont like to listen, but eventually you get used to them and they become powerless," the pink haired piglin hybrid speaks. ranboo feels like he's in some sort of weird coming of age movie at the climax where the teacher tells the student some bullshit and the rest of the movie becomes a walk in the park.

for some reason, he doesn't think the rest of his story is going to be a walk in the park, but maybe it wont be as hard as he thought.


	6. lily of the valley

the first time techno notices theres a grass block in his house, he brushes it off. he assumes it's edwards block, and simply picks it up with his silk touch shovel. easy. this was stupid of him, considering edward had been holding the same red poppy that ranboo has given him for like a month now, but he really had no reason to assume it was anything else.

the second time he notices a grass block, it's right next to his house. it has a little flower pot and a lily of the valley in it. he knows for a fact that neither the grass block, nor the pot it was in was there before, because they live in the fucking arctic and most every block has long been covered in snow. still, the memory tucks itself into the back if his head. there are endermen around. sure, they don't usually stay all that long since the snow tends to hurt them and all, but they're there. he isn't sure what the deal with the pot is, but that's an issue for another time.

the third time, techno is more than aware something hinky is going on. there's a grass block with a pot and a flower (a sunflower this time) right in front of his fireplace. it's not that it's annoying or anything, it's just a mild inconvenience and also now the mystery is itching his brain.

"edward, do you know who did this?" techno asks, despite knowing that even if edward does know the answer (and judging by the excited sounding warbles, he does) he won't understand by a long shot.

the fourth time, it's on the dinner table as he and phil are about to sit down and it has another pot and another lily of the valley. phil seems just as confused as he is, considering this thing wasn't there only a couple minutes prior. techno turns to phil with an eyebrow raised.

"im assuming you didnt put this here?" techno asks, even though hes been with philza for the last ten minutes so he knows he cant have done it.

"no- i didn't," phil answers, clearly bewildered because he had been under the impression that techno had been the one to put it there for some odd reason or another. "ya think edward can reach the table from here?" he asks, looking over at edward with his poppy, who had turned his attention to them at the mention of his name.

"no, edward has had that damn flower- has for ages now. this is getting ridiculous," techno is now mildly annoyed- not because it's a problem or anything, just because he has no idea where the hell they're coming from.

phil is considerably less annoyed and considerably more amused. he doesn't know where they're coming from either, but he thinks they're sweet. he'd seen them a few times himself, and had just assumed techno was being weird or something. 

"weird. well, i'll find and silk touch and we'll put it away. can never have too many grass blocks. finish up the food," phil orders as he begins digging through chessts to find a shovel.

techno begrudgingly does, and that's pretty much the end of it as the duo clean up, then sit down for dinner. from then on, grass blocks only get more frequent.

the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight times, they're placed sporadically around the house, and they each have lily of the valley's places on them. the ninth time it's a cornflower, but the tenth, it's once again a lily. techno has a feeling whatever bastard is leaving the flowers has an affinity for the white one. 

"alright i'm going to go mental," techno states when he, phil, and ranboo enter their house to an eleventh grass block with another lily atop it.

"oh my god," phil gets a single look at the flower and laughs. it was amusing how annoyed techno was getting by such a simple thing.

"what?" ranboo asks curiously. nothing looks amiss to him, the house looks pretty much as they left it.

"these grass blocks with flowers- they keep coming out of no where," techno explains, putting the pot and flower in his inventory, and using his shovel to pick up the grass. "i thought it was edward at first, but edward has a flower and hasn't let go of it in ages. it's driving me insane," theres a couple seconds of quiet before ranboo pipes up.

"oh- do you not like them?" he asks finally, a tint of nervousness to his voice. techno and phil make eye contact for a second before phil looks back at ranboo.

"it's not that we don't like them, we just don't know where they're coming from. it's like a mystery that you wanna solve, ya know?" he says, though in reality, he is decently sure the mystery has just solved itself. it's only then that he realizes ranboo has been picking up and placing grass blocks like nothing the whole day that they had been out adventuring. he looks at techno to see if he'd noticed, and techno looks disappointed with himself for not having realized sooner.

"oh, right," ranboo squeezes the block in his hand. "well, i've been the one putting them. it's like a present- i guess i didnt realize that you guys didnt realize it was me," he explains, blissfully unaware that the two men he was with had solved the puzzle just seconds before. both techno and phil figure it's best that way.

"what's up with the flowers on top?" techno asks. he's not surprised with the grass blocks, he knows endermen have a thing for that shit or whatever, but last he checked, endermen don't usually bring around flower pots to put on top of them.

"oh, right," a slight smile covers ranboo's face. "i thought youd like them. i mean, ive heard phil say he likes them before, and i thought white sorta matched your," ranboo just sorta gestures at techno. "vibe?" he seems unsure, but shrugs it off. "and i have a bunch of them becaude they're pretty." he seems less anxious than before, and techno assumes this is because neither he nor phil are really mad or anything.

"oh. well, thanks?" techno says as blankly as possible. his heart isn't warmed at all, and he definitely doesn't think that ranboo is the sweetest damn kid. a much needed difference as opposed to some previous child roommates he'd had.

"we appreciate it ranboo, i'm personally just glad we've solved the fucken mystery of the lily of the valley," phil jokes as he takes off the gear that's always needed to trek through the arctic.

"phil don't call it that, it makes it sound like a shitty hardy boys book or something," techno scolded, but phil just laughed in response. 

"i think it's cool," ranboo chirped. "like nancy drew, or something, not the hardy boys,"

"oh my god, that doesnt make it sound any better," techno says, the (definitely not) heartwarming moment from before being a memory as he found himself having to explain why 'the mystery of the lily of the valley' was incredibly stupid, ans that they just shouldn't name the mystery at all, because who named mysteries? it was nice-ish.


	7. i knew living in the arctic was a shitty idea

technoblade was lookin'. he didnt really know what he was lookin' for, he was just sorta lookin' and shit. it was cold as hell, but it always was. he didn't know why the hell he chose to live in the arctic- other than nostalgic purposes, he supposed- because it was always cold as balls. plus he hardly could ever tell where the hell he was going. everything looked like just one great blob of white, and the constantly falling snow really was no help in this problem. 

most days, he had some sort of mission he'd go on. do some bee keeping, maybe mess around with some turtles and try and maintain their high maintenance life style. today, however, he was just out. he had been feeling as though something was missing, but he couldnt quite put his finger on what exactly it was. phil was at home fast asleep, (he hadnt been paying too much attention to the time, but it was currently drawing closer and closer to 4am) and edward was safely in his boat. the dogs were in their little shed. everything seemed just right.

this was until he stumbled upon the body of a teenage boy curled up in a ball mumbling incoherently to himself.

oh, fuck. ranboo.

that's what had been missing. the teen had yet to officially move in with he and phil, but given he spent at least 16 hours every day in the house, they were basically roommates. still, ranboo had the tendency to come and go as he pleased- he had no obligation to stay in the house, after all- so it hadn't seemed too weird when he wasn't there. techno had just assumed he was off doing.. well.. whatever it was that he did when he was gone. 

the man snapped out of his thoughts and focused on ranboo, ranboo who seemed to not even realize there was another presence near him. the poor boy was taking shallow and raspy breaths. his eyes, though hardly open, were quite clearly unfocused. techno wasn't even sure if the boy knew that he was out in the arctic at night with nothing more than a suit jacket on.

there was a netherite axe on the ground and deep red blood staining the snow, both those and a severe scar on ranboo's face that suggested a struggle, or some sort of fight, but the only problem was, there was no one else there. like, no foot prints even to suggest that someone had been there before. the only blood was that which was clearly ranboo's, judging by how it surrounded only his body. what the hell had gone on here?

"ranboo, kid, can you hear me?" techno crouched carefully in front of ranboo, trying his best to make eye contact. ranboo was spitting absolute bullshit. like, barely speaking words, just scattered noises that very loosely resembled pleas of forgiveness, and begging for someone to stop and shut up. "ranboo, buddy, there's no one else here. no one but me, and i'm not gonna hurt ya," techno reassured. he wasn't the best at comforting people, but he didn't think he really had enough time to go and find phil. this kid was gonna end up with frostbite or something if they didn't get a move on.

after a few minutes of quiet coaxing- really just technoblade repeating over and over that it was just him, and that everything was fine, ranboo blinked twice (it was only then that techno realized the enderman hybrid hadn't been blinking this whole time) and the glaze over his eyes disappeared.

"techno..?" ranboo asked, squinting at the man that stood in front of him.

"yeah, it's me, kiddo. we better get inside, okay? it's cold out here- you're gonna get sick," techno wasted no time standing up, holding his arm out to help ranboo. "do you think you can stand up for me?" he asked. ranboo slowly nodded, but laid there for a bit longer, leading techno to wonder if he had actually heard and understood the question. just when he was about to repeat himself, the teen moved a bit. 

slowly, ranboo stood, shaking the entire way up, and just as soon as he'd managed to reach his full height, he felt his knees buckle. his vision got blurry, and he reached desperately for something to keep him up, and then- techno. he kept him from falling, a strong, sturdy arm wrapped tightly around his own thin frame.

"i'm- i'm sorry," ranboo muttered weakly.

"it's okay, ranboo, i'm here. i've got you," techno replied. ranboo wasn't sure if techno actually sounded reassuring, or if any voice that wasn't dream's was reassuring enough. ranboo was pretty sure that if techno were taller, he'd pick him up. however, ranboo was 6"6 as opposed to techno's 6"2, so it didn't quite work out. instead, he firmly wrapped an arm behind him and started walking. ranboo followed, taking shakey steps the whole way.

"do you think you can explain what happened?" techno asked after a couple minutes of quiet walking. 

"my head," ranboo muttered, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm. "the voice, he was yelling at me," he gripped himself tightly. "telling me that everything was my fault. everything," he didn't clarify what the hell 'everything' was, so techno couldn't tell if everything was like, l'manburg going to shit and getting completely demolished, or what, but techno didn't think that the boy was in the right mental state for any questions. instead, he slowly nodded.

"kid, im gonna tell you this straight, you cant listen to everything the voices- or voice- tells you. trust me, they're full of absolute shit sometimes," techno reassured, unhooking his cape with his free hand and wrapping it carefully around ranboo instead. he could withstand the cold. "can you tell me what you were doing out in the cold?" 

ranboo hesitated for a minute. he seemed almost as if he wasn't completely sure himself. "i was walking. i just needed a breather, and i got lost. i was trying to go back to the house, i just forgot the way. everything looks the same," he explained. usually, he'd refuse to keep the cape, but he was way too out of it. techno nodded in understanding. he knew living in the arctic was a shitty idea.

"and uhm... the cut.. on your face.. do you think you can tell me about that one?" techno sounded uncertain this time, which was extremely unlike him. even when hr was unsure or nervous, he spoke with an air of confidence.

"he wouldn't shut up," ranboo whispered. "he kept talking and talking and saying it was all my fault, and i just wanted him to shut up," his lower lip quivered as if he were about to start crying again.

"woah, buddy, it's okay, i'm here," techno responded, feeling a slight lump in his throat. he'd tried the same thing when he was younger and the voices had actually got to him. it was stupid, in hindsight, because how the fuck are you really gonna cut the. voices out of your own head, but at the time it'd seemed like the only solution.

a wave of quiet washed over them, silence except for the crunching of the snow beneath their feet and the wind that nipped at their noses. it would usually be relaxing, but techno found it unsettling. 

once they finally got to the house (it felt like fucking ages, but it was really probably like an hour at most) techno wasted no time getting ranboo under the covers and in front of the fireplace. instantly, the teens eyes drooped.

"hey bud, i don't think you should sleep quite yet. in case you've got hypothermia of something, i don't think it's a great idea," techno said, getting up and putting a kettle on the stove so that they could have a cup of tea. he wasn't even sure if ranboo completely understood what he'd said, because other than opening his eyes a bit more, he made no real move to react.

it was quiet. the fire was crackling, and they could still hear the wind howling outside. not silence, and that was probably what they needed. phil came downstairs as the water was starting to boil to the scene of techno glancing worriedly at ranboo, and ranboo staring blankly at the fire.

"uh, morning, guys," phil greeted. techno's gaze shot towards him, but ranboo's didnt waver from the fire. techno gestured for him to come.

"found him out in the snow by himself. huge gash on his face. says he was hearing the voice in his head blaming him for shit," techno murmured once phil came close. phil was surprised that ranboo didn't seem to hear him, but the kid seemed to be in a whole other world.

"jesus christ," phil took the kettle from the stove just as it was starting to whistle, pouring it into the two mugs that wete already set out as techno retrieved a third from the cabinet. he set it on the counter, and phil poured water into that one as well.

"im worried, phil," techno murmured, dropping tea bags into two of the cups and offering a third to phil to make his own. phil accepted, using his other hand to gently pat techno's shoulder.

"and it's good that you are. but he's not alone, techno. we're here for him. we've just got to keep a close eye on him these next coming days. make sure he doesnt end up going off on his own in the middle of the night again. and we'll talk to him when he's ready," phil spoke in that fatherly voice that techno knew all too well. "he'll be fine," he assured.

"if you say so phil," techno replied, looking back up at ranboo, who still seemed invested with the burning logs in the fireplace. everything would be okay. right?


	8. theoretically speaking

ranboo was sitting by himself. he was crying. honestly, he didn't remember why he was crying, but it felt nice to have the tears running down his cheeks.

well, okay, nice wasn't exactly the best word for it. the burning sensation on his face, while something he was used to, was still something that he didn't particularly enjoy. it didn't exactly hurt, but it was just... inconvenient. it stung.

he was enjoying the peace and quiet in techno's house. techno and phil were off god knows where doing who knows what, and dont get him wrong, he adored phil and techno both, and could only hope that one day he would be half as cool as either of them, but sometimes quiet was nice. edward was warbling- just makin' his own little enderman noises- (ranboo made out a few of the words, it wasn't really anything coherent, just a few "oh sheep" when he noticed an animal out the window, that sort of thing) and the fire was crackling, but otherwise, quiet.

ranboo sat like this, sniffling and allowing tears to roll down his cheek. maybe he was just sad. he felt like that sometimes. the voice in his head was something that he constantly thought about and constantly stressed him out, plus being seventeen was surprisingly fucking hard. eventually, his tears slowed, then stopped. as if on cue, techno walked in, carefully stomping the snow off his shoes by the door before closing it again.

"oh, hi," ranboo greeted, wiping tears from his cheek until they were properly dry. this was fine. he was fine.

"hullo," techno greeted, looking at ranboo and giving a sort of half smile, then looking back at himself, beginning to take his cloak and all that off, before doing a double take and looking back up at ranboo. "were you crying?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"no," ranboo answered almost a bit too quickly. techno could tell this was bullshit because water burned ranboos skin, and the white half of his face had red streaks down his face, and though it was a bit hard to see without his glasses on properly and from as far away as he was, it looked like the black side of his face was inflamed and sticking up a bit.

"you're sure?" techno asked skeptically as he slowly placed his cloak on it's hook.

"yeah," ranboo replied. techno stood and stared, seeing if ranboo was gonna crack like he usually did when he was lying because he had the backbone of a chocolate eclair. he didn't, so techno shrugged.

"kay," he answered, climbing up the stairs to his bedroom so that he could change into something more comfortable. surprisingly, the heavy shit you had to wear to stay warm in the fucking arctic wasn't exactly comfortable. once he'd changed into his casual wear- a really fancy looking top with sleek black pants, and of course, his crown, he returned to the living room where ranboo was seated, staring blankly into the fire.

he sat himself on a chair across from ranboo, picking a random book off of a shelf. "so i know you weren't crying, but theoretically if you were, would you want to talk about why?" techno asked casually, not picking his eyes up from the book. he could feel ranboo break away from the fire and look up at techno.

"theoretically speaking?" he asked. techno nodded. "well, i guess, in this theoretical scenario? i guess i wouldnt really know why i was. not that i was crying or anything," ranboo assured. he really didn't know who he was trying to fool at this point. 

"oh, okay," techno took a moment to process. he wasn't a comforting person, he was a scary person. he could kill someone in like twelve seconds if he really wanted to. he wouldn't hesitate to put a pickax through someones teeth. how the hell was he of all people supposed to comfort this upset teenager who didn't even really know why he was upset? "well, uh- theoretically, would reading to you make you feel any better?" he inquired. that was what he was good at. reading was his strong suit.

"i think that would be nice," ranboo said hesitantly, curling up in his chair. 

"no more of that theoretical bullshit?" techno asked, almost relieved.

"was it working on you?" ranboo asked.

"not even a little bit. you are really bad at lying," techno confirmed.

"yeah, i know. i'll work on it," ranboo responded.

"sounds good. for now, shut up so i can read," he settled himself, adjusting so that his back was against one arm of the chair and that his legs were hanging over the other leg and began reading.

ranboo smiled slightly to himself, closing his eyes and listening to the comforting aound of techno's voice reading about some guy called theseus or something.


	9. training montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i was just feeling an epic training montage

"you know, i have to admit, i think youre taking this sensei job a bit too seriously," ranboo gave a nervous laugh as he *very* narrowly avoided being stabbed in the chest by stepping slightly to the left. "i mean- i don't need a whole training montage or anything, i can just.. like.. teleport?" he demonstrated by promptly teleporting 10 feet to the right, staring at his mentor with a 'see?' sort of look.

"first off, every cool sensei has a training montage ranboo, don't ruin this for me," techno stood up straight from his fighting stance, sheathing his sword as he did. "secondly, we don't really know the extent of your teleporting yet. we dont know how far you can teleport and if there's any limit as to how much you can teleport at a time. so training," techno had a definite tone to his voice, and frankly, ranboo didn't really want to argue with a guy who had a netherite sword and was also known as the blood god.

"alright, alright," ranboo found his way back in front of techno. in all honesty, he wasn't much of a fighter. sure, he had proper armor and a (borrowed) sword, but fighting just wasnt his thing. he was tall as shit and had the tendency to be really fucking clumsy because of it. fun fact, he'd once literally almost impaled himself with a sword because he tripped over his own damn feet. he'd turned up just fine, and phil had patched him up in ten seconds, but the man wheezed at his stupidity for at least ten minutes. if it were up to ranboo, he would never even look at another weapon.

"straighten up," techno ordered, pulling his sword back out. "your back and your legs both. you stand like you don't know what you're doing," 

"to be fair, i don't," ranboo countered truthfully, though he did straighten his posture, pulling his own sword out. it was diamond. he had a netherite one (the borrowed one, yeah) but in his opinion, diamond looked cooler.

"yes you do," techno replied, holding his sword out. "i know you've got it in you- if you really wanted to learn, you could. you're a smart kid, ranboo. you just act like a complete idiot most of the time,"

"don't get too mushy on me, technoblade, i might start thinking you like me or something," ranboo replied sarcastically. as a response to his smartass-ness, techno swung his sword towards the teenager. though all of his instincts were telling him to dodge it and simply move away, the brought the other sword to a stop, blocking it with his own. honestly, it was further than he thought he'd get, so score.

"dont get distracted, you haven't won anything yet," techno said as if he could read ranboo's mind, as he pulled his sword back and swung from the opposite direction. again, ranboo managed to block. "good one- try swinging at me, come on. battles arent going to be one sided. an attacker isnt going to stop unless you make them," 

"but i don't wanna hurt you," ranboo replied, furrowing his eyebrows as he blocked a third attack.

"ranboo, no offense, but i don't think your diamond sword is gonna hurt much through my-" ranboo swung midway through technos sentence. the older man smiled slightly with pride. "smart, attacks wait for no one," he praised. "try going a bit higher next time, you were a bit towards the hip, but stomach and chest wounds are more likely to stop," he advised.

ranboo nodded, wishing he could pause during all of this to write in his memory journal, but figuring it'd be awkward to ask, and that he'd just have to remember what he could and hope that his body would subconsciously remember the rest of if. for a few moments, the duo exchanged hits. neither of them actuallg managing to hit the other, and techno yelling praise (though it was as subtle as he could) and advice the whole time.

then, it happened. ranboo saw an opportunity. techno's footing- it was off. he wasn't stapled to the ground as he often told ranboo to be. without thinking, ranboo swept techno's ankles with his foot, and then, the man was on the ground. within two seconds, ranboo had kicked the netherite sword that the man had dropped just out of reach and put the tip of his own sword on techno's chest with a triumphant smile.

the piglin hybrids face was hard to read. he looked.. just.. blank. for a minute ranboo wondered if he was supposed to actually win this little spat. then, techno's face lit up with a very slight smile.

"ranboo, that was amazing. seriously, amd you act like you dont know what you're doing," he praised. ranboo put his sword away, stepping back and offering a hand to help techno up. the man accepted it (though ranboo was very lanky and had very little muscle, so it was mostly just techno standing up by himself and ranboo straining as if he were helping). "really, superb job, ranboo," 

ranboo grinned. "what can i say? i have an amazing sensei," 

"you're such a kiss ass," the man rolled his eyes, but patted the kids shoulder with a proud smile.


End file.
